Headship as a career choice: what governors think
Seven in 10 (70%) governors think the attractiveness of headship as a career
choice has got worse over the past five years.
A quarter of governors (25%) found it difficult to recruit a headteacher or other
senior leader in the past 12 months and almost one in five (15%) is concerned
about the recruitment of heads in the next 12-24 months. The majority of school
governors in each case believe the demands of headship is the biggest obstacle
to the national supply of headteachers and one of the biggest challenges to
recruiting a new head in their own school.
In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle to the
national supply of headteachers?
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges to
recruiting a new headteacher in your school?
42%
Demands of the role
25%
Quality of applications
Impact of the role on
personal wellbeing
21%
Number of applications
19%
N/A
19%
11%
Demographics of the local area
10%
Risk of failure
53%
Demands of the role
Impact of the role on
personal wellbeing
Risk of failure
17%
7%
Perceptions of the role
5%
Insufficient succession
planning in school
5%
Other
4%
9%
School Ofsted grade
8%
Perceptions of the role
7%
School location
6%
Salary
Insufficient succession
planning in school
5%
School reputation
5%
Other
5%
Profile of the role in
the media
3%
School demographics
Lack of development opportunities
for middle leaders
3%
Lack of development opportunities
for middle leaders
3%
3%
N/A - there is no obstacle
2%
Profile of the role in
the media
Salary
2%
School budget for advertising
4%
1%
I think the great
work heads
do is rarely praised
and appreciated. The
focus is always on the
negative. This needs
to change if we are to
attract and retain good
calibre headteachers.”
Governor
24
State of Education Survey 2016 | www.thekeysupport.com
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